| No. 258 Squadron RAF | |
|---|---|
| Active | 25 July 1918 – 5 March 1918 20 November 1940 - October 1941 1 March 1942 – 31 December 1945 |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  Royal Air Force |
| Mottos | 'In medias re' (In the middle of things) |
| Engagements | Java, Ceylon |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Marshal of the RAF Sir Neil Cameron |
| Insignia | |
| Squadron Badge heraldry | In front of wings elevated and conjoined in base, a panthers face |
| Squadron Codes | FH (Apr 1939 - Sep 1939) ZT (Aug 1944 - Dec 1945) |
No. 258 Squadron was a Royal Air Force squadron during the First and Second World Wars.
No. 258 Squadron was first formed 25 July 1918 from 523, 525 and 529 Special Duties Flights at Luce Bay nearStranraer, Scotland under the control ofNo. 25 Group RAF. It was equipped withDe Havilland DH.6 biplanes and carried out anti-submarine patrols over the Irish Sea. It was disbanded on 5 March 1918.[1]
The squadron was reformed on 20 November 1940 atRAF Leconfield, Yorkshire as a fighter squadron equipped withHawker Hurricanes, commanded byWilfred Clouston. First based atRAF Acklington, it was later relocated toRAF Jurby on the Isle of Man. By April 1941, No. 258 Squadron's time at Jurby had come to an end, and they transferred toRAF Valley[2] and thence toRAF Kenley[2] in preparation to take the offensive to the enemy.[3] In October they were stood down to prepare for a move to the Far East. After a few days in Singapore, they were withdrawn to Sumatra and then Java, where they suffered many losses either killed or captured by the Japanese. The survivors transferred their aircraft toNo. 605 Squadron and most attempted to escape by ship to Australia, but all the ships were sunk en route with no survivors.[4]
The squadron was again reformed 1 March 1942 from G Squadron atRatmalana Airport, near Colombo, Ceylon but suffered severe losses during theJapanese carrier strike on 5 April 1942. After a spell in Burma (underNeil Cameron) the squadron was withdrawn to be re-equipped with AmericanRepublic P-47 Thunderbolts. In June 1945 it then began training for the invasion of Malaya but on the Japanese surrender, the squadron was finally disbanded on 31 December 1945.
The squadron was largely manned byRoyal New Zealand Air Force pilots.
